End gate



Apr. 3, 1923 ,450,364

J. M; GRAY END GATE Filed Mar. 20, 1922 APatented Apr. 3, 1923.

UNITED ASTATES vPmrzllil" goFFicl-z.

JOSEPH.' M. GRAY, OF BROWNSTOWN INDIANA, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-THIRD TO JOSEPH M. ROBERTSON AND ONE-THIRD T MARTIN P. PFERRER, BOTH 0F BROWNSTOWN,

INDIANA.

END GATE.

To all whom it' may concern Be it known that I, JOSEPH M. GRAY, a citizen of the United States, residing in Brownstown, in the county of Jackson,

State of Indiana, have invented new and useful `Improvements in End Gates, lof which the following is a full, clear, and comprehensive specification and exposition, the same being such as will enable others to make and use the same with exactitude.

The object of my present invention, broadly speaking, is to provide an end-gate for vehicles, and for various other purposes to which it may be found applicable, the same being strong and durable in construction, easily operated and controlled, efficient in practicepand which can be manufactured and sold at a com aratively low price.

Various other o jects and particular advantages of the invention will suggest themselves in the course of the following specication, and that which is new will be correlated in the appended claim.

Certain details of this construction are shown in my application for patent on end gate' latches, filed March 20, 1922, Serial No. 545,264, now pending in the Patent Office.

The preferred manner of carrying out the principles of this invention in an efficient manner is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a face view of my invention in practice, or more particularly, a rear end elevation of a vehicle bed with my end gate secured in operative condition therewith. Figure 2 is a top plan view of one portion of the construction shown in Fig. 1. Figure 3 is a side elevation of the same. Figure 4 is a detail section, as taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3. And Figure 5 is a detail top plan oredge view of the rear end of one of the sides of lthe Vvehicle body.

Similar indices denote like parts throughout the several views.

In order that the construction, the operation, and the advantages of the invention may be more fully understood and appreciated, I will now take up a detailed description, in which I will set forth the several Afeatures therof as fully and as completely as I may.

In the drawings letter A denotes the bottom or floor of a wagon-bed, from which ex- Application filed March` 20, 1922. Serial No. 545,263.

tend upward the sides VB and C in the usual manner. The inner corners of the sides B and C are truncated or beveled, as at Inclosing the rear ends of the sides B and .C are the respective caps or hooder-irons 1 and 2, which snugly lit said sides and conform with the bevels and they extend from the top to the bottom thereof, and they are secured by the rivets y as shown.

f *Numerals 3` and 4 denote the hangerhooks, the samebeing attached as by rivets e to near the upper ends of the outermem- -they are notched into the respective sides B and C in the same manner as arey the hooks v 3 and 4, and ythey project rearward from said sides as shown in Fig. 3. Each of said shackles has an eye therein, as the eyej in Fig.A 3f 4 v Numeral 7 denotes the end-gate proper, the same having an acute 'angular tongue p extending laterally from the rear edge of each end thereof, to conform with vthe respective bevels m shown in 2. Secured on the rear, outer, face of thel gate 7 and extending vertically across each end thereof, are the vouter metal yplates 8 and 9, which merge into their respective angle-irons' 10 and 11. Covering the ends ofthe; lgate 7, fitting said angular portions p, and connected with the angle irons 10 and 11, is an edge plate, as the edge-plate 12 shown in Fig. 2, the same being integral with their respective inner'plates, as theinner plate 13 shown in Fig. 2. By the arrangement of the above it is seen that I form a channel between the respective angle irons and its plate 12 in which channel will fit the rear ends of the said sides B and C, all as is clearly shown in Fig. 2

Formed through the upper portion of the angle-irons are the respective slotsv 14 and 15 which are to receive the respective hooks 3 and 4 therein.

Similar to the above are the slots 16 and 17 formed through the lower portions of the be used.

angle-irons to receive therein the respective .with each other, each comprising a baseplate 18'to Twhich is secured the hinge-plate 19, the `latter being' provided with ears through which is disposed the vertical bolt 20. Numeral 21 denotes the handle which is integral with the shank 22, the latter being integral with the head 23, which is rotatable between the said ears of the plate 19, where itis pivoted on the said bolt, substantially as shown.

Numeral 24 denotes a fork which is pivoted to thecentral portion of the shank 22, by means of the bolt 25. Extending from the fork24 is a plunger 26. A Harige 27 eX- tends out from the plunger 26, and it is located a short distance Y'from said fork.

-Said flange 27 forms a stop against which one end Yofthe spring 29 is at all times engaged.

' Secured on the outer plates, 8 and 9, are the lguide bearings 28 which has an eye therethrough in which is slidably mounted the Aplunger 26, but which is adapted to be withdrawn therefrom. Surrounding the plunger 26 and extendingbetween Vth'e guide 28 and the stop 27, is ythe helicalfspring 29, which is adapted to keep the plunger 26 in either its securing or non-securingposition, that is to say: inserted or withdrawn.

Extending from the plunger 26is a finger 30 which, when the vhandles are thrown apart, enters a slot in the base portion of the handles, there being a hole formed through the projecting portion in which may be inserted apin 31, or a padlock may be employed in place of the pin,-but in ordinary practice neither the pin or a padlock will It will now be seen that if the handles 21 be thrown apart, as in Fig. 1, that the outer ends vot-the Vplungers'26 will be driven unto the eyes of the respective shackles 5 and 6, thereby locking the end gate in such position-that it can not be inadvertently removed, and at the same time, by reason of the hooks 3 and 4 being in the eyes 14 and 15,' the sides B and C will be Vprevented from spreading apart, and the end-gate can not become loosened.

Now when one desires to open the rear end `of the vehicle-bed he has only to grasp the two handles 21 and simultaneously draw them toward each other, which after the movement has reached a certain point, by reason of eccentric mounting, will be `re tained in that position by the spring29.

- It is evident that when the handles are moved toward each other that the plungers 26 will be drawn from engagement with the shackles 5 and 6, therefore the operator may, while still holding the handles, pull outward thereon and thus swino' the end-gate outward and upward, thereby permitting material to pass from the bed under gate. Or if it be desired, the operator still holding 'the yhandles 21, he may swing the end-gate further upward and at the same time'he may lift upward thereon, thereby removing it 'from engagement with the hooks 3 and 4.

To replace the end-gateone has only to reverse the operations just mentioned, thereby bringing the end-gate back to operative position in an infinitesimally short space of time.

I- desire that it be understood that various changes may be made in the several details of construction from that herein 'shown without departing from the spirit ofthe invention and without sacrificing any ofthe advantages thereof. A

Having now fully shown andk described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by LettersV Patent of the United States, is

In combination with a vehicle bed adapted to receive an end gateto close the end thereot. fiat-hooks yextending out and back from the end of the upper portion of the bed, shackles extending out and back from the lower portion'o't the end of the bed, an end gate having channels at each end to receive the ends of the sides of the bed, there being slots in the bottoms of said channels through which said hooks and shackles project rearward beyondthev efnd gate with the end gate suspended upon said hooks, plungers adapted toenter eyes in said shackles vto lock the end gate in operative position, handles for manually operating said plungers, and spring means for 'positively holding the plungers resiliently in or out of operative position. Y Y

JOSEPH GRAY. 

